In a shocking incident, eight police personnel, including Deputy SP Devendra Mishra, were killed and six cops were injured in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur during a police raid to nab a hardened criminal and murderer Vikas Dubey’s house on July 2 late night.
According to the reports, a team of Uttar Pradesh had gone to raid an area in search of criminal Vikas Dubey in Chaubepur in Kanpur. The raid was carried out at 1 am on the intervening night of July 2-3 in Bithoor area in Chaubepur.
UP Police @Uppolice DGP explains that mastermind of Kanpur Incident where 8 cops were martyred is a historysheeter Vikas Dubey.
— Rohan Dua (@rohanduaTOI) July 3, 2020
He used a JCB machine to block police movt and his men fired at cops from roofs of houses. The martyrs incl a DSP Devendra Mishra, 3 insp,4 constables pic.twitter.com/9TDMMHHw0C
The police team comprising of 15-16 personnel had carried out the raid based on a complaint from Rahul Tiwari, who had lodged a case against Vikas Dubey recently on charges of attempt to murder.
As the police team reached the spot, they were ambushed by Dubey’s men who were prepared with arms on the roof of a building and continuously shot at them. Shockingly, the criminals had already stationed a JCB machine on the road to block the police team. UP police have informed that the operation is still going on and forensic teams are at the spot.
According to the police, Vikas Dubey and his men were already aware of the police raid, and were on high alert. The criminals managed to flee from the spot after killing the police personnel.
8 Policemen martyred on the line of duty, in #Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
— Dipanshu Kabra (@ipskabra) July 3, 2020
They were on a mission to nab history-sheeter #VikasDubey. My deepest condolence to the brave men.🙏
Their sacrifice will not go in vain. pic.twitter.com/cMNMUHsvkX
A fierce gunbattle ensued between the police and criminals during the raid leading to the death of at least 8 policemen and injuring 6 others. The deceased cops of Kanpur have been identified as DSP Devendra Kumar Mishra, SO Mahesh Yadav, Chowki Incharge Anup Kumar, Sub-Inspector Nebulal, Constables Sultan Singh, Rahul, Jitendra and Bablu.
Who is Vikas Dubey?
Vikas Dubey is a notorious criminal, who carries a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head. He is also a former member of the district panchayat and has at least 60 cases of murder, robbery against him, according to a Hindustan Times report.
Vikas Dubey was also accused in the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Santosh Shukla inside the Shivli police station in 2001. During the attack, two policemen were also killed by Vikas Dubey. However, he was later aquitted by a local court for lack of evidence.
The notorious criminal, who hails from Bikru village, keeps his own private army. As per reports, by the age of 19, he was already a wanted criminal and was accused for the murder of a minister in UP.
Vikas Dubey, a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, was also elected as a member of the Nagar Panchayat. The former BSP leader was also named in the murder of Siddheshwar Pandey, the principal and assistant manager of Tarachand Inter College, in 2000.
In the same year, Dubey had conspired to murder Rambabu Yadav while in jail. He is also accused of the murder of cable businessman Dinesh Dubey in the year 2004.
Again in 2018, he carried out a plan to kill his own cousin Anurag. The gangster had conspired the murder while he was lodged in Mati jail. Anurag’s wife had accused Vikas Dubey and three others of attacking her husband.
Two men of Vikas Dubey killed, STF deployed
Meanwhile, two of Vikas Dubey’s men have been gunned down by the Uttar Pradesh police in Nivada village. The police have also taken his brother-in-law, Dinesh Tiwari, into custody for questioning.
The UP Police are now surveying mobile phone signals from 500 phones in the area to track the criminals. The border areas of Kanpur division have been sealed down and all border checkpoints have been put on high alert.
The Uttar Pradesh government has deployed a Special Task Force (STF) to look into the encounter that left 8 policemen dead within hours. ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar visited the spot of the encounter in Bikaru village early morning.
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has expressed his condolences to the families of the eight police personnel who lost their lives in the Kanpur encounter. The Chief Minister has also directed DGP HC Awasthi to take strict action against criminals and has also sought report of the incident.
